Alerts
Please be advised that our bird aviaries are open!
Your Toronto Zoo is committed to the health and safety of the animals in our care. We take proactive steps to protect our birds from Avian Influenza which has been confirmed in a wild bird in southern Ontario, and some birds may still be off display.
Please note Splash Island is still closed and will not open until July due to unforeseen delays in construction. Please watch for updates on https://www.torontozoo.com/tz/splash or on our social media pages. Thank you!
Please note the following animals are currently not on display due to various reasons including Avian Bird Flu, and Covid-19 sensitivity:
- Flamingo, peacock, owl, bald eagle, and aviaries
- Some Kids Zoo Animals
- Cougar
- Moose
- Kangaroo walk through (kangaroos are still visible)
- Axolotl
We apologize for the inconvenience!
Amphibian
Location at the Zoo:
Americas
Region: South and Central America
Green and black poison dart frog
These frogs are small, usually colourful and quite slender. Most are green with black in bands or spots. The skin contains numerous poison glands. Length: 2.5 to 5.0 cm. Characterized by a pair of plate-like scutes on the upper side of each finger and toe.Conservation Status: IUCN
Distribution:
Central and South America, from Nicaragua and Costa Rica to southeastern Brazil and Bolivia. They were introduced to Hawaii by humans and have flourished there.Habitat:
Forest floor, amongst leaf litter.Diet:
Small insects, such as ants. Ants have high quantities of toxic compounds in their tissue. These alkaloids provide the precursors to skin toxins which are formed when the ants are consumed by these frogs. This makes the frogs unpalatable to predators. When the food source does not have these alkaloids, the frog will lose this poisonous feature.Reproduction:
The mating season of D. auratus occurs throughout the entire rainy season of the rain forest, from mid-July through mid-September. Male frogs go through an elaborate ritual to attract mates. The males first fight among themselves to establish territories, which are then fixed for the remainder of the mating season. The male then attracts a female with vocalizations consisting of trilling sounds. Part of the mating behavior involves the frogs rubbing against each other. Once the courtship ritual is completed, the female deposits up to six eggs under leaf litter. The eggs are encased in a gelatinous substance for protection. These eggs will develop into tadpoles over a period of two weeks while the male continues to occasionally check on them. The young feed from the yolk sac of the egg.Once the tadpoles hatch, they climb onto the male’s back and he carries them to a place suitable for further development, such as a water filled hole in a tree or plant leaves that hold water. For the duration of this trip, the tadpoles are attached to the males back by a mucus secretion, which is soluble only in water so that there is no chance of them accidentally falling off. Once they are at their final destination, the male immerses himself and the tadpoles in a water source and they float off independently. The tadpoles are now on their own. They take an additional six weeks to develop into adult frogs.